SENATE. 


Rkpokt  No.  :;!♦!», 
Part  2. 


in  tin:  senate  of  the  unitkd  states. 


APRIL  23,  18*4.— Ordered  to  be  printed. 

Mr.  Brown,  from  the  Committee  on  Woman  Suffrage,  submitted  the 

following 

V  I  B  W  S  OF   THE   M  I  N  0  R  I  T  Y  . 

[To  accompany  S.  Res.  19.] 

The  undersigned  minority  of  the  Committee  of  the  Senate  on  Woman  Suf- 
frage, to  whom  iras  referred  S.  Res.  19,  proposing  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  {/ranting  the  right  to  vote  to  the  women 
of  the  United  States,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  report  : 

The  undersigned  believe  that  the  Creator  intended  that  the  sphere  of 
the  males  and  females  of  onr  race  should  be  different,  and  that  their 
duties  and  obligations,  while  they  differ  materially,  are  equally  impor- 
tant and  equally  honorable,  and  that  each  sex  is  equally  well  qualified 
by  natural  endowments  for  the  discharge  of  the  important  duties  which 
pertain  to  each,  and  that  each  sex  is  equally  competent  to  discharge 
those  duties. 

We  find  an  abundance  of  evidence  both  in  the  works  of  nature  and 
in  the  Divine  revelation  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  family  properly 
regulated  is  the  foundation  and  pillar  of  society,  and  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  any  other  human  institution. 

In  the  Divine  economy  it  is  provided  that  the  man  shall  be  the  head 
of  the  family,  and  shall  take  upon  himself  the  solemn  obligation  of  pro- 
viding for  and  protecting  the  family. 

Man,  by  reason  of  his  physical  strength,  and  his  other  endowments 
and  faculties,  is  qualified  for  the  discharge  of  those  duties  that  require 
strength  and  ability  to  combat  with  the  sterner  realities  and  difficulties 
of  life.  The  different  classes  of  outdoor  labor,  which  require  physical 
strength  and  endurance,  are  by  nature  assigned  to  man,  the  head  of 
the  family,  as  part  of  his  task.  He  discharges  such  labors  as  require 
greater  physical  endurance  and  strength  than  the  female  sex  are  usu- 
ally found  to  possess.  It  is  not  only  his  duty  to  provide  for  and  pro- 
tect the  family,  but  as  a  member  of  the  community  it  is  also  his  duty 
to  discharge  the  laborious  and  responsible  obligations  which  the  family 
owe  to  the  State,  and  which  obligation  must  be  discharged  by  the  head 
of  the  family,  until  the  male  members  of  the  family  have  grown  up  to 
manhood,  and  are  able  to  aid  in  tin4  discharge  of  those  obligations, 
when  it  becomes  their  duty  in  their  turn  to  take  charge  of  and  rear 
each  a  family,  for  which  lie  is  responsible. 

Among  other  duties  which  the  head  of  the  family  owes  to  the  State 
is  military  duty  in  time  of  war,  which  he,  when  able-bodied,  is  able  to 
discharge,  and  which  the  female  members  of  the  family  are  unable  to 
discharge. 

He  is  also  under  obligation  to  discharge,  jury  duty,  and  by  himself  or 
his  representative  to  discharge  his  part  of  the  labor  necessary  to  cou- 


2 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE. 


Struct  and  keep  in  proper  order  roads,  bridges,  streets,  and  all  grades 
of  public  highways.  And  in  this  progressive  age  upon  the  male  sex 
is  devolved  the  duty  of  constructing  our  railroads,  and  the  engines  and 
other  rolling-  stock  with  which  they  arc  operated,  of  building,  equipping, 
and  launching  shipping  and  other  water  crafts  of  every  character  nec- 
essary for  the  transportation  of  passengers  or  freight  upon  our  rivers, 
our  lakes,  and  upon  the  high  seas. 

The  labor  in  our  fields,  sowing,  cultivating,  and  reaping  crops  must 
be  discharged  mainly  by  the  male  sex,  as  the  female  sex,  for  want  of 
physical  Strength,  arc  generally  unable  to  discharge  these  duties. 

As  it  is  the  duty  of  the  male  sex  to  perform  the  obligations  to  the 
State,  to  society,  and  to  the  family,  already  mentioned,  with  numerous 
others  that  might  be  enumerated,  ir  is  also  their  duty  to  aid  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  State,  which  is  simply  a  great  aggregation  of  families. 
Society  cannot  be  preserved  nor  can  the  people  be  prosperous  without 
good  government.  The  Government  of  our  country  is  a  government 
of  the  people,  and  it  becomes  necessary  that  that  class  of  people  upon 
whom  the  responsibility  rests  should  assemble  together  and  consider  and 
discuss  the  great  questions  of  governmental  policy  which  from  time  to 
time  are  presented  for  their  decision.  This  often  requires  the  assembling 
of  caucuses  in  thenight-timeas  well  as  public  assemblages  in  the  day  time. 
It  is  a  laborious  task  for  which  the  male  sex  is  infinitely  better  fitted 
than  the  female  sex,  and  after  proper  consideration  and  discussion  of 
the  measures  that  may  divide  the  country  from  time  to  time  the  duty 
devolves  upon  those  who  are  responsible  for  the  Government  at  times 
and  places  to  be  fixed  by  law,  to  meet  and  by  the  ballot  to  decide  the 
great  questions  of  government  upon  which  the  prosperity  of  the  country 
depends.  These  are  some  of  the  active  and  sterner  duties  of  life  to 
which  the  male  sex  is  by  nature  better  fitted  than  the  female  sex.  If 
in  carrying  out  the  policy  of  the  State  on  great  measures  adjudged  vi- 
tal such  policy  should  lead  to  war,  either  foreign  or  domestic,  it  would 
seem  to  follow  very  naturally  that  those  who  ha  ve  been  responsible  for 
the  management  of  the  State  should  be  the  parties  ttt  take  the  hazards 
and  hardships  of  the  struggle. 

Here  again  man  is  fitted  by  nature  for  the  discharge  of  the  duty — 
women  is  unfit  for  it.  So  much  for  some  of  the  duties  imposed  upon 
the  male  sex  for  the  discharge  of  which  the  Creator  has  endowed  them 
with  proper  strength  and  faculties. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Creator  has  assigned  to  woman  very  laborious 
and  responsible  duties,  by  no  means  less  important  than  those  imposed 
upon  the  male  sex,  though  entirely  different  in  their  character.  In  the 
family  she  Is  a  queen.  She  alone  is  tit  ted  lor  the  discbarge  of  the 
sacred  trust  of  wife  and  the  endearing  relation  of  mother.  While  the 
man  is  contending  with  the  sterner  duties  of  life,  the  whole  time  of  the 
noble,  affectionate,  and  true  woman  is  required  in  the  discharge  of  the 
delicate  and  difficult  duties  assigned  her  in  the  family  circle,  in  her 
church  relations,  and  in  the  society  where  her  lot  is  cast.  W  hen  the 
husband  returns  home  weary  and  worn  in  the  discharge  of  the  difficult 
and  laborious  task  assigned  him,  he  finds  m  the  good  wife  solace  and 
consolation  which  is  nowhere  else  afforded.  It  he  is  despondent  and 
distressed  She  Cheers  his  heart  with  words  of  kindness;  if  he  is  sick  or 
languishing,  she  soothes,  comforts,  and  ministers  to  him  as  no  one  but 
an  affectionate  wife  can  do.  If  his  burdens  are  onerous  she  divides 
their  weight  by  the  exercise  of  her  love  and  her  sympathy. 

But  a  still  more  important  duty  devolves  upon  the  mother.  Alter 
having  brought  into  existence  the  offspring  of  the  nuptial  union,  the 
children  arc  dependent  upon  the  mother  RS  they  arc  not  upon  any  other 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE 


3 


human  being.  The  trust  is  b  most  sacred,  most  responsible,  and  most 
important  one.  To  watch  over  them  in  their  infancy,  and  as  the  mind 
begins  to  expand  to  train,  direct,  and  educate  it  into  the  paths  of  virtue 
and  usefulness  is  the  high  trust  assigned  to  the  mother.  She  trains  the 
twig  as  the  tree  should  be  inclined.  She  molds  the  character.  She 
educates  the  heart  as  well  as  the  intellect,  and  she  prepares  the  future 
man.  now  the  boy,  for  honor  or  dishonor.  Upon  the  manner  in  which 
she  discharges  her  duty  depends  the  fact  whether  he  shall  in  futuie  be 
a  useful  citizen  or  a  burden  to  society.  She  inculcates  lessons  of  pa- 
triotism, manliness,  religion,  and  virtue,  fitting  the  man  by  reason  of 
his  training  to  be  an  ornament  to  society  or  dooming  him  by  bet  neg- 
lect to  a  life  of  dishonor  and  shame.  Society  acts  unwisely  when  it  im- 
poses upon  her  the  duties  that  by  common  consent  have  always  been 
assigned  to  the  sterner  and  stronger  sex,  and  the  discharge  of  which 
causes  her  to  neglect  those  sacred  and  all-important  duties  t  >  her  chil- 
dren, and  to  the  society  of  which  they  are  members. 

In  the  church  by  her  piety,  her  charity,  and  her  Christian  purity  she 
not  only  aids  society  by  a  proper  training  of  her  own  children,  but  the 
children  of  others,  whom  she  encourages  to  come  to  the  sacred  altar, 
are  taught  to  walk  in  the  paths  of  rectitude,  honor,  and  religion.  In 
the  Sunday-school  room  the  good  woman  is  a  princess,  and  she  exerts 
an  influence  which  purities  and  ennobles  society,  training  the  young  in 
the  truths  of  religion,  making  the  Sunday  school  the  nursery  of  the 
church  and  elevating  society  to  the  higher  planes  of  pure  religion,  vir- 
tue, and  patriotism. 

In  the  sick  room  and  among  the  humble,  the  poor,  and  the  suffering, 
the  good  woman,  like  an  angel  of  light,  cheers  the  hearts  and  revives 
the  hopes  of  the  poor,  the  suffering,  and  the  despondent. 

It  would  be  a  vain  attempt  to  undertake  to  enumerate  the  refining, 
endearing,  and  ennobling  influences  exercised  by  the  true  woman  in 
her  relations  to  the  family  and  to  society  when  she  occupies  the  sphere 
assigned  her  by  the  laws  of  nature  ami  the  Divine  inspiration,  which 
are  our  surest  guide  for  the  present  and  the  future  life.  lint  how  can 
woman  be  expected  to  meet  these  heavy  responsibilities  and  to  discharge 
these  delicate  and  most  important  duties  of  wife,  Christian,  teacher,  min- 
ister of  mercy,  friend  of  the  suffering,  and  consoler  of  the  despondent  and 
the  needy,  if  we  impose  upon  her  the  grosser,  rougher,  and  harsher  du- 
ties which  nature  has  assigned  to  the  male  sex  ! 

If  the  wife  and  the  mother  is  required  to  leave  the  sacred  precincts  of 
home,  and  to  attempt  to  do  military  duty  when  the  State  is  in  peril,  or 
if  she  is  to  be  required  to  leave  her  home  from  da  to  day  in  attendance 
upon  the  court  as  a  juror,  and  to  be  shut  up  in  the  jury -room  from  night 
to  night,  with  men  who  are  strangers,  while  a  question  of  life  or  prop- 
erty is  being  considered,  if  she  is  to  attend  political  meetings,  take  part 
in  political  discussions,  and  mingle  with  the  male  sex  at  political  gath- 
erings, if  she  is  to  become  an  active  politician,  if  she  is  to  attend  polit- 
ical caucuses  at  late  hours  of  the  ni  ;ht,  if  she  i>  to  take  part  in  all  the 
unsavory  work  that  may  be  deemed  necessary  for  the  triumph  of  her 
party,  and  if  on  election  day  she  is  to  leave  her  home  and  go  upon  the 
streets  electioneering  for  votes  for  the  candidate's  who  receive  her  sup- 
port, and  mingling  among  the  crowds  of  men  who  gather  around  the 
polls,  she  is  to  press  her  way  through  them  to  the  ballot-box  and  de- 
posit her  suffrage,  if  she  is  to  take  part  in  the  corporate  struggles  of  the 
city  or  town  in  which  she  resides,  attend  to  the  duties  of  his  honor  the 
mayor,  of  councilman,  or  of  policeman,  to  say  nothing  of  the  many  other 
like  obligations  which  are  disagreeable  even  to  the  male  sex.  how  is  she, 
with  all  these  heavy  duties  of  citizen,  politician,  and  office-holder  rest 


4 


WOMAN  SUFFRAGE. 


ing  upon  her  shoulders,  to  attend  to  the  more  sacred,  delicate,  and  re 
fining  trust  to  which  we  have  already  referred,  and  for  which  she  Is 
peculiarly  fitted  by  nature  |  If  she  is  to  discharge  the  duties  last  men 
tinned,  how  is  she,  in  connection  with  them,  to  discharge  the  more  iv 
fining,  elevating,  and  ennobling  duties  of  wife,  mother,  Christian,  ami 
friend,  which  are  found  in  the  sphere  where  nature  lias  placed  her  I 

Who  is  to  care  for  and  train  the  children  while  she  is  absent  in  the 
discharge  of  these  masculine  duties  ! 

If  it  were  proper  to  reverse  the  order  of  nature  and  assign  woman  t<» 
the  sterner  duties  devolved  upon  the  male  sex  and  to  attempt  to  assign 
man  to  th-e  more  refining,  delicate,  and  ennobling  duties  of  the  woman 
man  would  be  found  entirely  incompetent  to  the  discharge  of  the  obli- 
gations which  nature  has  devolved  upon  the  gentler  sex,  and  society 
must  be  greatly  injured  by  the  attempted  change.  But  if  we  are  told 
that  the  object  of  this  movement  is  not  to  reverse  this  order  of  nature, 
but  only  to  devolve  upon  the  gentler  sex  a  portion  of  the  more  rigorous 
duties  imposed  by  nature  upon  the  stronger  sex,  we  reply  that  society 
must  be  injured,  as  the  woman  would  not  be  able  to  discharge  those 
duties  so  well,  by  reason  of  her  want  of  physical  strength,  as  the  male, 
upon  whom  they  are  devolved,  and  to  the  extent  that  the  duties  are  to 
be  divided  the  male  would  be  infinitely  less  competent  to  discharge  the 
delicate  and  sacred  trusts  which  nature  has  assigned  to  the  female. 

But  it  has  been  said  that  the  present  law  is  unjust  to  woman;  that 
she  is  often  required  to  pay  taxes  on  property  she  holds  without  being 
permitted  to  take  part  in  framing  or  administering  the  laws  by  which 
her  property  is  governed,  and  that  she  is  taxed  without  representation. 
This  is  a  great  mistake. 

It  may  be  very  doubtful  whether  the  male  or  the  female  sex,  in  the 
present  state  of  things,  has  more  influence  in  the  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Government,  and  the  enactment  of  the  laws  by  which  we 
are  governed. 

While  the  woman  does  not  discharge  military  duty,  nor  does  she  at- 
tend courts  and  serve  on  juries,  nor  does  she  labor  upon  the  public 
streets,  bridges,  or  highways,  nor  does  she  engage  actively  and  publicly 
in  tin1  discussion  of  political  affairs,  nor  does  she  enter  the  crowded  pre- 
cincts of  the  ballot-box  to  deposit  her  suffrage,  still  the  intelligent,  cul- 
tivated, aoble  woman  is  a  power  behind  the  throne.  All  her  influence 
is  in  favor  of  morality,  justice,  and  fair  dealing;  all  her  efforts  and  her 
counsel  are  in  favor  of  good  government,  wise  and  wholesome  regula- 
tions, and  a  faithful  administration  of  the  laws.  Such  a  woman,  by  her 
gentleness,  kindness,  and  Christian  bearing,  impresses  her  views  and 
her  counsels  upon  her  father,  her  husband,  her  brothers,  her  sons,  and 
her  other  male  friends,  who  imperceptibly  yield  to  her  influence  many 
times,  without  even  being  conscious  of  it.  She  rules  not  with  a  rod  of 
iron,  but  with  the  queenly  scepter;  she  binds  not  with  hooks  of  steel, 
but  with  silken  cords  ;  she  governs  not  by  physical  efforts,  but  by  moral 
suasion  and  feminine  purity  and  delicacy.  Her  dominion  is  one  of  love, 
not  of  arbitrary  power. 

We  are  satisfied,  therefore,  that  (he  pure,  cultivated  and  pious  ladies 
of  this  country  now  exercise  a  very  powerful  but  quiet,  imperceptible 
influence  in  popular  affairs  much  greater  than  they  will  ever  again  ex- 
ercise if  female  suffrage  should  be  enacted  and  they  should  be  com- 
pelled actively  to  take  part  in  the  affairs  of  Stale  and  the  corruptions 
of  party  politics. 

It  would  be  a  gratification,  and  we  arenlways  glad  to  see  the  ladies 

gratified, to  many  who  have  espoused  the  cause  of  woman  suffrage  if 

they  could  take  active  part  in  political  affairs,  and  go  to  the  polls  ami 


WOMAX  Sl'KFKAIiK. 


5 


cast  their  votes  alongside  the  male  sex;  but  while  this  would  be  a  grati- 
fication to  a  large  Dumber  of  very  worthy  and  excellent  ladies,  who  take 
a  different  view  of  the  question  from  that  which  we  entertain,  we  feci 
that  it  would  be  a  great  cruelty  to  a  much  larger  number  of  the  culti- 
vated, refined,  delicate,  and  lovely  women  of  this  country  who  seek  no 
such  distinction;  who  would  enjoy  no  such  privilege,  who  would  with 
woman-like  delicacy  shrink  from  the  discharge  of  any  such  obligation, 
ami  who  would  sincerely  regret  that  what  they  consider  the  foils  of  t In- 
state, had  imposed  upon  them  any  such  unpleasant  duties. 

But  should  female  suffrage  be  once  established  it  would  become  an 
imperative  necessity  that  the  very  large  class,  indeed  much  the  largest 
class  of  the  women  of  this  country,  of  the  character  last  described, 
should  yield,  contrary  to  their  inclinations  and  their  wishes,  to  the  neces- 
sity which  would  compel  them  to  engage  in  political  strife.  We  appre- 
hend no  one  who  has  properly  considered  this  question  w  ill  doubt, 
if  female  suffrage  should  be  established,  that  the  more  ignorant  and 
less  refined  portions  of  the  female  population  of  this  country,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  baser  class  of  females,  laying  aside  female  delicacy,  and 
disregarding  the  sacred  duties  devolving  upon  them  to  which  we  have 
already  referred,  would  rush  to  the  polls  and  take  pleasure  in  the 
crow  ded  association  which  the  situation  would  compel  of  the  two  sexes 
in  political  meetings  and  at  the  ballot-box. 

If  all  the  baser  and  all  the  more  ignorant  portion  of  the  female  sex 
crowd  to  the  polls  and  deposit  their  suffrage,  this  compels  the  very 
large  class  of  intelligent,  virtuous,  and  refined  females,  including  the 
wives  and  mothers  who  have  much  more  important  duties  to  perform, 
to  leave  their  sacred  labors  at  home,  relinquishing  for  a  time  the  God 
given  important  trust  which  has  been  placed  in  their  hands,  to  go  con- 
trary to  their  wishes  to  the  polls  and  vote,  to  counteract  the  suffrage 
of  the  less  worthy  class  of  our  female  population. 

If  they  fail  to  do  this  the  best  interests  of  the  country  must  suffer. 

It  is  now  a  problem  which  perplexes  the  brain  of  the  ablest  states- 
man to  determine  how  we  will  best  preserve  our  republican  system  as 
against  the  demoralizing  influence  of  the  large  class  of  our  present  citi- 
zens and  voters,  who,  by  reason  of  their  illiteracy,  are  unable  to  read  or 
write  the  ballot  they  cast. 

Certainly  no  statesman  who  has  carefully  observed  the  situation 
would  desire  to  add  very  largely  to  this  burden  of  ignorance.  But  who 
does  not  apprehend  the  fact  if  universal  female  suffrage  should  be  es- 
tablished that  we  will,  especially  in  the  Southern  States,  add  a  very 
large  number  to  the  voting  population  whose  ignorance  utterly  disquali- 
fies them  to  discharge  the  trust.  If  our  colored  population,  who  were  so 
recently  slaves  that  even  the  males  who  are  voters  have  had  but  little 
opportunity  to  educate  themselves,  or  to  be  educated,  whose  ignorance 
is  now  exciting  the  liveliest  interest  of  our  statesmen,  are  causes  of 
serious  apprehension,  what  is  to  be  said  in  favor  of  adding  to  the  voting 
population  all  the  females  of  that  race,  who, on  account  of  the  situation 
in  which  they  have  been  placed,  have  had  much  less  opportunity  to  be 
educated  than  even  the  males  of  their  ow  n  race  1  We  do  not  say  it  is 
their  fault  that  they  are  not  educated;  but  the  fact  is  undeniable  that 
they  are  grossly  ignorant,  with  very  few  exceptions,  and  probably  not 
one  iu  a  hundred  of  them  could  read  and  write  tin1  ballot  they  would 
be  authorized  to  cast.  What  says  the  statesman  to  the  propriety  of 
adding  this  immense  mass  of  ignorance  to  the  voting  population  of  the 
Union  iu  its  present  condition  I 

It  may  be  said  that  their  votes  could  be  off'  set  by  the  ballots  of  the 
educated  and  refined  ladies  of  the  white  race  in  the  same  section,  but 


6 


WOMAN  SUPj-  RAGE 


who  docs  not  know  that  the  ignorant  voters  would  be  at  the  polls  en 
masse,  while  the  refined  and  educated,  shrinking  from  public  contact  on 
such  occasions  would  remain  at  home  and  attend  to  their  domestic  and 
other  important  duties,  leaving  the  country  to  the  control  of  those  who 
could  afford,  under  the  circumstances,  to  take  part  in  the  strifes  of  poli- 
tics, and  to tsome  in  contact  with  the  unpleasant  surroundings  before 
they  could  reach  the  polls. 

Are  we  ready  to  expose  the  country  to  the  demoralization,  and  our 
institutions  to  the  strain,  which  would  thus  be  placed  upon  them,  lor 
the  gratification  of  a  minority  of  the  virtuous  and  the  good  of  our  fe- 
male population,  at  the  expense  of  the  mortification  of  a  much  larger 
majority  of  the  same  class  I 

It  has  been  frequently  urged  with  great  earnestness  by  those  who 
advocate  woman  suffrage  that  the  ballot  is  necessary  to  the  women  to 
enable  them  to  protect  themselves  in  securing  occupations,  and  to  ena- 
ble them  to  realize  the  same  compensation  tor  the  like  labor  which  is 
received  by  men.  This  argument  is  plausible,  but  upon  a  closer  exami- 
nation it  will  be  found  to  possess  but  little  real  force.  The  price  of 
Labor  is,  and  must  continue  to  be,  governed  by  tin1  law  of  supply  and 
demand;  and  the  person  who  has  the  most  physical  strength  to  labor, 
and  the  most  pursuits  requiring  such  strength  open  for  employment, 
will  always  command  the  higher  prices. 

Ladies  make  excellent  teachers  in  the  public  schools;  many  of  them 
are  every  way  the  equals  of  their  male  competitors,  and  still  they  secure 
less  wages  than  males.  The  reason  is  obvious.  The  nu  nber  of  ladies 
wTho  otter  themselves  as  teachers  is  much  larger  than  the  number  of  males 
who  are  willing  to  teach.  The  larger  number  of  females  offer  to  teach 
because  other  occupations  are  not  open  to  them.  The  smaller  number 
of  males  otter  to  teach  because  other  more  profitable  occupations  are 
open  to  most  males  who  are  competent  to  teach.  The  result  is  that  the 
competition  for  positions  of  teachers  to  be  filled  by  ladies  is  so  great  as 
to  reduce  the  price,  but  as  males  cannot  be  employed  at  that  price,  and 
are  necessary  in  certain  places  in  the  schools,  those  seeking  their  sear- 
vices  have  to  pay  a  higher  rate  for  them.  Persons  having  larger 
number  of  places  open  to  them  with  fewer  competitors  command  higher 
wages  than  those  who  have  as  mailer  number  of  places  open  to  them 
with  more  competitors.  This  is  the  law  of  society.  It  is  the  law  of  sup- 
ply and  demand,  which  cannot  be  changed  by  legislation. 

Then  it  follows  that  the  ballot  cannot  enable  those  who  have  to  com- 
pete with  tin1  larger  numberto  command  the  same  pricesas  those  who  com- 
pete with  the  smaller  number  in  the  labor  market.  As  the  legislature 
has  no  power  to  regulate  in  practice  that  of  which  the  advocates  of 
female  suffrage  complain  the  ballot  in  the  hands  of  females  could  not 
aid  its  regulation.  The  ballot  cannot  impart  to  the  female  physical 
strength  which  she  does  not  possess,  nor  can  it  open  to  her  pursuits 
which  she  does  not  have  physical  ability  to  engage  in;  and  as  long  as 
she  lacks  the  physical  strength  to  compete  with  men  in  the  different 
departments  of  labor  there  will  be  more  competition  in  her  department, 
and  she  must  necessarily  receive  less  wages. 

lint  it  is  claimed  again  that  females  should  have  the  ballot  as  a  pro- 
tection against  the  tyranny  of  bad  husbands.  This  is  also  delusive.  If 
the  husband  is  brutal,  arbitrary,  or  tyrannical,  and  tyrannizes  over  her 
at  home,  the  ballot  in  her  bands  would  be  no  protection  againt  >  uch  in- 
justice, but  the  husband  who  compelled  her  to  conform  to  his  wishes  in 
other  respects  would  also  compel  her  to  use  the  ballot  if  she  possessed 
it  as  he  might  please  to  dictate.  The  ballot  could  therefore  be  of  no 
assistance  to  the  wife  in  such  case,  nor  could  it  heal  family  strifes  or 


WOMAN  sutra(;k. 


dissensions   On  the  contrary,  one  of  the  gravest  object  ions  to  placing 
the  bailor  in  the  hands  of  the  female  sex  is  that  it  would  promote  mi 
happiness  and  dissensions  in  the  family  circle.    There  should  be  unity 
in  the  family. 

At  present  the  man  represents  the  family  in  meeting  the  demands  of 
the  law  and  of  society  upon  the  family.  80  far  as  the  rougher,  coarser 
duties  are  concerned,  the  man  represents  the  family,  and  the  Individu- 
ality of  the  woman  is  not  brought  into  prominence,  but  when  the  ballot 
is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  woman  her  individuality  is  enlarged  and 
she  is  expected  to  answer  for  herself  the  demands  of  the  law  and  of 
society  on  her  individual  account,  and  not  as  the  weaker  member  of  the 
family  to  answer  by  her  husband.  This  naturally  draws  her  out  from 
the  dignified  ami  cultivated  refinement  of  her  womanly  position,  and 
brings  her  into  a  closer  contact  with  the  rougher  elements  of  society,  which 
tends  to  destroy  that  higher  reverence  and  respect  which  her  retinement 
and  dignity  in  the  relation  of  wife  and  mother  have  always  inspired  in 
those  who  approached  her  in  her  useful  and  honorable  retirement. 

When  she  becomes  a  voter  she  will  be  more  or  less  of  a  politician, 
and  will  form  political  alliances,  or  unite  with  political  parties,  which 
will  frequently  be  antagonistic  to  those  to  which  her  husband  belongs. 
This  will  introduce  into  the  family  circle  new  elements  of  disagreement 
and  discord,  which  will  frequently  end  in  unhappy  divisions,  if  not  in 
separation  or  divorce.  This  must  frequently  occur  when  she  becomes 
an  active  politician,  identified  with  a  party  which  is  distasteful  to  her 
husband.  On  the  other  hand,  if  she  unites  w  ith  her  husband  in  party 
associations,  and  votes  with  him  on  all  occasions,  so  as  not  to  disturb 
the  harmony  and  happiness  of  the  family,  then  the  ballot  is  of  no  serv- 
ice, as  it  simply  duplicates  the  vote  of  the  male  on  each  side  of  the 
question,  and  leaves  the  result  the  same. 

Again,  if  the  family  is  the  unit  of  society,  and  the  State  is  composed 
of  an  aggregation  of  families,  then  it  is  important  to  society  that  there 
be  as  many  happy  families  as  possible,  and  it  becomes  the  duty  of  man 
and  woman  alike  to  unite  in  the  holy  relation  of  matrimony. 

As  this  is  the  only  legal  and  proper  mode  of  rendering  obedience  to 
the  early  command  to  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  whatever  tends 
to  discourage  the  holy  relation  of  matrimony,  is  in  disobedience  of  t  his 
command,  and  any  (mange  which  encourages  such  disobedience  is  vio 
lative  of  the  Divine  law,  and  cannot  result  in  advantage  to  the  State. 
Before  forming  this  relation  it  is  the  duty  of  young  nam  w  ho  have  to 
take  upon  themselves  the  responsibilities  of  providing  for  and  protect- 
ing the  family  to  select  some  profession  or  pursuit  that  is  most  con 
geuial  to  their  tastes,  and  in  which  they  will  be  most  likely  to  be  suc- 
cessful;  but  this  is  not  permitted  to  the  young  ladies,  or  if  permitted, 
it  cannot  be  practically  carried  out  after  matrimony.  As  it  might  fre- 
quently happen  that  the  young  man  had  selected  one  profession  or 
pursuit  and  the  young  lady  another ;  the  result  would  be  that  after 
marriage  she  must  drop  the  profession  or  pursuit  of  her  choice  and 
employ  herself  in  the  sacred  duties  of  wife  and  mother  at  home,  and  in 
rearing,  educating,  and  elevating  the  family,  w  hile  the  husband  pur- 
sues the  profession  of  Ids  choice. 

It  may  be  said,  however,  that  there  is  a  class  of  young  ladies  who  do 
not  choose  to  marry,  and  who  select  professions  or  avocations  and  fol- 
low them  for  a  livelihood.  This  is  true,  but  this  class  compared  with 
the  number  who  unite  in  matrimony  with  the  husbands  of  their  choice 
is  comparatively  very  small;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  society  to  encourage 
the  increase  of  marriages  rather  than  of  celibacy.  If  the  larger  number 
of  females  select  pursuits  or  professions  which  require  them  to  decline 


g  WOMAN  SUFFRAGE. 

marriage,  society  to  that  extent  is  deprived  of  the  advantages  resulting 
from  the  increase  of  population  by  marriage. 

It  is  said  by  those  who  have  examined  the  question  closely  that  the 
largest  number  of  divorces  is  now  found  in  the  communities  where  the 
advocates  of  female  suffrage  are  most  numerous,  and  where  the  indi- 
vidualitv  of  woman  as  related  to  her  hushand,  which  such  a  doctrine 
Inculcates,  is  increased  to  the  greatest  extent.  If  this  be  true,  and  it 
seems  to  be  well  authenticated,  it  is  a  strong  plea  in  the  interest  of  the 
fnmilv  and  of  society,  against  granting  the  petition  of  the  advocate*  of 
woman  suffrage.  After  all,  this  is  a  local  question,  which  properly  be- 
longs to  the  different  States  of  the  Union,  each  acting  for  itself,  and 
to  the  Territories  of  the  Union,  when  not  acting  in  conflict  with  the  Con- 
stitution and  laws  of  the  United  States. 

The  fact  that  a  State  adopts  the  rule  of  female  suffrage,  neithei  in- 
creases nor  diminishes  its  power  in  the  Union,  as  the  number  oi  Repre- 
sentatives in  Congress  to  which  each  State  is  entitled,  and  the  number 
of  members  of  the  electoral  college  appointed  by  each,  is  determined  by 
its  aggregate  population,  and  not  by  the  proportion  ot  its  voting  pop- 
ulation, so  long  as  no  race  or  class  is  excluded  from  the  exercise  ot  the 
right  of  suffrage.  c*i 

While  the  undersigned  would  vote  against  female  suffrage  it  theques- 
tiou  were  to  arise  in  their  respective  States,  they  admit  the  power  ot 
the  States  over  the  subject-matter.  Entertaining  these  views  they  pro- 
test against  a  constitutional  amendment  which  would  confer  the  right 
of  female  suffrage  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  without  regard  to  the  wishes 
of  the  different  States  at  any  time  after  the  adoption  of  the  said  amend- 
ment They  believe  that  the  noble,  true,  good  women  of  the  country 
Should  be  heard,  and  as  an  expression  of  their  views  there  is  hereto  ap- 
pended "  Woman's  Protest  against  Woman  Suffrage  known  as  the 
Lorain  Memorial  against  Woman  Suffrage,  presented  to  the  Ohio  legis- 
lature and  signed  by  a  large  number  of  the  most  thoughttu  and  intel- 
ligent women  of  the  cities  of  Oberlin  and  Elvria,  Ohio,  including  lady 
teachers  and  wives  of  professors  in  Oberlin  °°lte||;pH  B  BBOwN 

F.  M .  OOOKRBLL. 


WOMAN'S  trotest  AGAINST  WOMAN  suffrage. 
We  acknowledge  no  inferiority  to  men.    yVe  claim  to  have  no  less  ability  to  per- 
form tin -duties  ifnieh  God  has  imposed  npon  ns  than  they  have  to  perform  those  >m- 

P<  We  SfftevetSl  God  has  wisely  and  well  adapted  each  sex  to  the  proper  perfor.n- 

ftTe1eUeve^nr  be  as  important  and  sacred  as  any  that  exist  on  earth. 

We  believe  woman  suffrage  would  relatively  lessen  the  intluence  of  the  intelligent 
■md  true  and  increase  the  intluence  of  the  ignorant  and  vicious. 

We7«l  that  our  present  duties  .ill  up  the  whole  measure  °*  ™^  ^£2* 
and  are  such  as  none  bill  ourselves  can  perform.  Our  appreciation  ol  hen  impor- 
:  1  i  res  us  to  protest  against  all  etlorts  to  infringe  upon  our  rights  by  nn posing 
1      /s'thos,.  <.bl.Jn.ons  whuh  cannot  be  operated  Prom  sn,  ,  u  w  inch 

think,  cannot  be  performed  l>y  us  without  the  saenhee  ot  the  highest  interests  01  om 

fTfclt^  husbands,  and  sons  who  represent  us  at  the  ballot-box. 
Our  fathers  and  our  brothers  love  us:  our  husbands  are  our  choice  and  one  ^hM, 
„u  mill  are  what  ,n  make.  them.  We  are  content  that  they  represent  us  iU  the  ,  Ol  - 
MdTSTSJ  battUeld.  and  at  the  ballot-box.  and  we  0,e,n  m  these  boo  broom  a 

^  -tablish  -  won.au 

SOAnage"  in  our  land,  Ot  m  any  part  ot  it. 


